Thomas Durell
Durell, oil on board portrait by an unknown artist
Born1685 (1685)
St Helier, Jersey
DiedAugust 23, 1741(1741-08-23) (aged 55–56)
at sea off Spithead, Hampshire, England
AllegianceGreat Britain
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1697-1741
RankPost-captain
Commands heldHMS Speedwell
HMS Seahorse
HMS Kent
HMS Exeter
HMS Scarborough
HMS Strafford
HMS Sunderland
HMS Elizabeth
Battles/wars
Relations

Captain Thomas Durell (1685-1741) was a British naval officer most famous for his role in the capture of the Spanish ship Princesa.[1][2]

Early life

Thomas Durell was born in 1685 to John Durell, who was the Lieutenant-Bailiff of Jersey and Ann Dumaresq, who was the daughter of Elias Dumaresq, 3rd Seigneur of Augrès.[3]

Early career

Durell joined the Royal Navy in 1697 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1705 after passing the lieutenant's examination.[4] He was promoted to commander in 1716 and was later given command of the 42-gun HMS Speedwell. He was promoted to post-captain in 1720.[4]

Nova Scotia

After the Peace of Utrecht, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession, the British gained control of part of the Acadian lands in modern-day Nova Scotia.

Durell who was in command of HMS Seahorse under the orders of General Richard Philipps, who was the Governor of Nova Scotia, surveyed the coasts and harbours of the newly acquired colony. This service was vital to the British governors; Durell's surveys were later used to create maps of Nova Scotia and the greater area.[5][6]

For Durell's services there is an island named in his honour near Canso, Nova Scotia named Durell's Island.[5][7]

Capture of Princesa

During the War of Austrian Succession, Durell took part in the action of 8 April 1740. Durell, who commanded HMS Kent, fought alongside Captain Covill Mayne who commanded HMS Lenox and Captain Lord Augustus Fitzroy who commanded HMS Orford. Together the ships fought at close range with the Spanish man of war Princesa, which was captured and became HMS Princess.[8] During the battle Durell injured his hand.

Depiction of the action of 8 April 1740

References

  1. ↑ "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  2. ↑ Charnock, John (1796). Biographia navalis; or, Impartial memoirs of the lives ... of officers of the navy of Great Britain from ... 1660.
  3. ↑ Payne, James Bertrand (1859–1865). Armorial of Jersey : being an account, heraldic and antiquarian, of its chief native families, with pedigrees, biographical notices, and illustrative data; to which are added a brief history of heraldry, and remarks on the mediaeval antiquities of the island. University of California Libraries. [Jersey].
  4. 1 2 "Thomas Durell (d.1741)". threedecks.org. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 Fergussn, C. Bruce. "Durells in Eighteenth-Century Canadian History" (PDF). The Dalhousie Review. 35: 16–30.
  6. ↑ Lockett, Jerry (7 November 2010). Captain James Cook in Atlantic Canada: The Adventurer and Map Maker's Formative Years. Formac Publishing Company Limited. ISBN 978-0-88780-944-6.
  7. ↑ "Durells Island (Nova Scotia)". roadsidethoughts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "Capture of the Princesa, 8th April 1740". threedecks.org. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
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